Echo of a Wish: Rainstorm
by Tawny Red
Summary: If you follow the sun, after it disappears into the Sun-Drown place, there is a land only the breeze knows. A place where an era of peace is being shattered by a prophecy that warns of a new enemy, and with it, a time where darkness covers the sun. One from each clan has been chosen, but they must find a way to work together, or face a betrayal like no other.
1. Prologue

**Echo of a Wish: Rainstorm**

**_Prologue_**

If you follow the sun, after it disappears into the Sun-Drown place, there is a land that only the breeze knows. A place where the grass grows tall and undisturbed, where an era of peace is soon coming to a close.

Three clans, united under the same earth, breathe as one. All but the eldest elders know only of the Echoright, a treaty bound with the blood shed in a war that shook the foundations of the sky, so named after the final echoing cry of the last cat to die in the last battle. The cry was filled with so much pain and sorrow, that it was decided that something had to be done. And done it was.

So, for the final act, we call upon three. The one who shines throughout the dark, the one who moves mountains to achieve, and the other who seeks only their beginning.

Indeed, the beginning would be a good place to start.

...

A day like any other, if slightly more overcast, began as usual. The sun was not yet in the sky when a crooked figure with a pelt like burned out embers, stood atop the tree stump of an old oak and called for a gathering of his clan. Ashstar had been leader for many a season, his face wizened and his blue eyes bright despite his old age.

It took a moment for the sleeping cats to be roused from their slumber, and as the leader waited, he was joined by another cat. A mere half of Ashstar's age, but still not young, he stood tall, long light brown fur well groomed.

"Was it wise to call on the clan so early? It isn't even time for the first dawn patrol yet." He said.

"This is important, Pinetail. What our Medicine cat foretold should not be ignored." Ashstar replied, his gaze not leaving the horizon. The light of a day not yet begun was starting to seep over the pointed tops of the dense pine woodland, turning the clouds a milky orange.

"My friends." He mowed loudly, addressing the entire clan. "We have received a warning."

He paused to let that sink in, the echo of his voice on the rocky walls of the camp boundary adding extra, but unneeded emphasis.

"There is a storm like no other coming. In the words of Breezefoot, '_Three as one shall take it's toll, and thunder shall strain the voice of all. The sky shall fall, the winds will rise and a single birdsong through the night._' He saw with it rain and lightning, against a half-moon sky. I fear this is the prophecy to end the peace and unity we have known for so long."

Gasps and shock-strangled yowls erruped over the clan cats, and they turned to each other, trying to figure out what was going to happen to them. A long sigh from Ashstar silenced them, and Pinetail stepped forward.

"It is true indeed, some warriors have not experienced the hostility of a war between clans in their lifetime. It has been a glorious time, but it was guaranteed to end soon. It is not the way of the clans to have been at peace for do long."

There was a yowl from near the back of the listening cats, one not challenging to Pinetail's words, but instead challenging the cat who had begun the panic.

"We hear this, but where is the medicine cat? What has he got to say?!"

There were meows of agreement, growing into chatter as the cats began to talk amongst themselves again. Ashstar shut them up with a loud hiss.

"Breezefoot has begun his journey to the Moonstream, to ask more about the future of Stoneclan. But we remain strong for now. Duskpelt, Frostwing, take some cats for dawn patrol. We continue on, and find out what the other clans have heard from Starclan at the gathering tonight." He said curtly.

...

**So, with this short prologue, I give you the set up for this story. Do you like it? **

**Also, I need OCs for three clans: Stoneclan, Mistclan and Tideclan. You can send up to 5 per person, and by PM ONLY, unless you are an anonymous reviewer.**

**Also, I need main character OCs. PM me a detailed description of them, with a statement of why they should be a main character. **

**-Tawny**


	2. Allegiances and Act 1

**Thank you for all the OCs you guys sent in :D It was a hard choice, but the main characters I have chosen are: Eelpaw, [Reaper of Books] Flashpaw, [Snowthewhitewolf] and Duskpaw [FoxNeon]. All the others have been put into the requested clans, and will still be in the story. **

**Echo of a Wish: Rainstorm**

**Allegiances and Chapter 1**

**StoneClan**

Leader:Ashstar - A very old grey tom with patches of darker grey fur. He has pale blue eyes.

Deputy:Pinetail - A tom with long brown fur, that is always well groomed. He has yellow eyes.

Medicine cat: Breezefoot - A small black tom with green eyes.

Warriors:

Lightpelt - A white she cat with silver tabby markings. She has green eyes.

Nightspot - A white tom cat with black patches and blue eyes.[Apprentice, Duskpaw]

Dustfur - A dark grey tom cat with yellow eyes.

Redfoot - A dark ginger tom with green eyes.

Raintail - A blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes.

Foxstep - A ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes. [Apprentice, Briarpaw]

Queens and Kits:

Sundapple - A white and ginger tabby with green eyes.

Russetkit - A red/ginger tom kit. (Sundapple and Redfoot)

Sandkit - A light ginger she kit. (Sundapple and Redfoot)

Apprentices:

Duskpaw - A ginger/grey tom with blue eyes.

Briarpaw - A light brown she cat with yellow eyes.

Elders:

Darkpelt - A black tom cat with amber eyes.

Poppyleaf - A light brown she cat with amber eyes.

**MistClan**

Leader: Featherstar - A small white she-cat with blue eyes.

Deputy: Inkeyes - A completely black tom with dark brown eyes. Missing his right ear.

Medicine cat: Featherfrost - A light grey Tom with white flecks on his back.

Warriors:

Fawntail - A light tan colour she cat with yellow eye.

Smokestripe - A large black tom cat with blue eyes.

Heathertail - A dark brown she cat with pretty green eyes.

Windfur - A sleek grey she cat.

Whitespot - A black and white tom with green eyes.

Flintstone - A dark grey tom with dark blue eyes.

Nightheart - A long tailed black tom with green eyes.

Queens and kits:

Cloudpelt - A white she cat with yellow eyes.

Emberlight - A dark ginger tabby with green eyes.

Sunkit - A ginger she cat.(Emberlight and Whitespot)

Larkkit - A ginger tom.(Emberlight and Whitespot)

Shadekit - A black tom. (Cloudpelt and Nightheart)

Apprentices:

Flashpaw - A light grey she cat with blue eyes.

Goldenpaw - A light ginger she cat with amber eyes.

Rockpaw - A large brown and grey tom with brown eyes.

Elders: None.

**Tideclan**

Leader: Ruststar - A rust coloured tom with amber eyes.

Deputy: Blueclaw - A large blue grey tom with yellow eyes.

Medicine cat: Webwhisker - A wizened old white tom with pale blue eyes.

Warriors:

Floodclaw - A black tom with blue eyes.

Copperheart - A light brown tom with darker stripes.

Raventail - A black she cat with yellow eyes.

Flightstep - A light grey she cat with orange eyes.

Applefoot - A light ginger she cat with blue eyes.

Fogpelt - White/grey tom cat with silver stripes.

Cherrysky - A white she cat with dark blue eyes.

Queens and kits:

Weaselpelt - A dark brown striped she cat with blue eyes.

Earthkit - A dark brown tom.

Apprentices:

Eelpaw - A light grey tom with dark green eyes. He has some light brown stripes on his back.

Whisperpaw - A light brown she cat with yellow eyes. Very soft-spoken.

Elders:

Halfclaw - A battlescarred old tom with green eyes.

Rosetail - A black she cat with a gingery tail.

**Cats outside clans**

Tawny - A tawny coloured tom that lives near Stoneclan. He helped them fight in the great battle, and considers the clans allies.

Paddy - A vicious rouge tom. He hates the clans with all his heart, and lives in Tideclan territory.

Dancer - A white she cat that lives with a twoleg family near the Tideclan territories. As far as the clan cats know, those are the only twolegs near them.

* * *

Act 1

Deep in the heart of the forest, where three territories become one single clearing, a small group of cats sit around the base of an old oak tree. It's lower branches sweeping forest floor, leaves absent on the old bark. That is the place where the three clan leaders sit, but only one sits at the moment, waiting.

A small rustle of the leaves in the edge of the clearing betrays the position of another group of cats, who approach slowly. Not cautiously, there was never any need for that. On the other side of the clearing, there is again a rustle in the bushes and a group of cats emerging.

Once all three groups had gathered below the tree, with only the silhouettes of the leaders visible against the light of the moon, there was a moment of silence. It was a silence that happened every moon in remembrance of the cats who fell in the great battle, and was broken only by the caw of a crow in the distance.

The three leaders, evenly spaced along the low branch, bowed their heads. One tall and old. Another, small and young. The third, in the middle, was neither small nor tall; young nor old. Ashstar Featherstar and Ruststar, who speaks first.

"Raise your heads." He says softly.

Ashstar flicks his tail against Ruststar's shoulder, asking permission to speak.

"My clan have received a warning. We know not what it brings, but it foretold the destruction of the era of peace our ancestors have worked so hard to achieve." He said, all attention now focused on him.

Featherstar gasped, along with some of the other listening cats.

"An end to the Echoright?" She breathed.

"We are afraid so." Put in Ruststar. "I too have received a warning like that. Early this morning, to be exact."

"We received it at the same time. Featherstar, have you heard anything?"

Featherstar swept her gaze around the clearing, stopping on a light grey tom with white flecks on his back. The cat nodded slightly, and Featherstar turned back to the other two leaders.

"What we received was not a warning. The prophecy sent to us showed three saviors, stood in the light of a new day. What does it mean?"

Ashstar sighed, his old age taking its toll on his body. He heaved himself upright and turned his gaze outwards to the assembled clans.

"Perhaps there _is_ hope after all..."

* * *

**Just a short one today guys, I needed to get that allegiances thing out of the way. Thanks to Reaper of Books, Ice and lightning and amberleaf4273 for reviewing.**

**Review and stuff.**

**[Also, one of the cat's names is a pun on one of my favorite old TV shows. Guess which one it is? ;)]**


	3. Act 2

Echo of a Wish: Rainstorm

Act 2

_"Perhaps there is hope after all..."_

Ashstar's words had been too quiet for all the gathered cats to hear, but it had a profound effect on the ones that had. If he, the oldest and arguably the wisest cat in the territories believed that something was coming, and that the might be a way to save the clans, then the other clan cats did too.

* * *

Duskpaw looked up to the night sky. Gatherings always finished in the earliest hours of the morning, when the stars were still in the sky, and he found it soothing to look at them as he was walking back to camp.

The sky was like velvet, with only a few single wispy clouds, like down from a queen's nest, floating quietly along. The moon hung still, creating a kind of blue half light that turned all the green pine needles into tiny star fragments and brightening up the night a little.

Even though he was walking in a big group, lead by the leader and deputy, it felt like it was just him. Him and the stars.

"Duskpaw?"

Okay, him, the stars and Briarpaw.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What do you think is going to happen to us?"

Duskpaw shook his grey and ginger head, and turned to his companion. Briarpaw looked worried, her yellow eyes meeting his.

"I don't know, but we'll face it as a clan; as three clans together."

Briarpaw looked down at her feet, flexing her claws nervously as she walked. The dry earth hadn't had any rain for half a moon now, leaving it cracked and desolate.

"That's what I'm worried about. We can't remain as three clans forever, even under the Echoright..."

"Well, we shouldn't worry yet." Duskpaw replied. "We'll face it when it comes."

"Yeah..."

And then, there was a rather uncomfortable silence. Suddenly the stars weren't so pretty. Why has Starclan not said anything more? Could they not tell what was going to happen, when, or even why?

The wind blew a little harder, ruffling Briarpaw's long brown fur. She didn't like the fact it was so long, but it was slightly more bearable when the weather was colder. Now it was a nuisance, just like how the prophecy had completely flipped her life in under a day. It use to be so simple, just hunt, train, _live_...

"Okay, we're back at camp." Pinetail stated loudly. "Rest up, there's hunting and training to be done tomorrow. Especially you apprentices, you'll have an assessment tomorrow."

"What? We haven't even been training for a two moons!" Duskpaw muttered quietly.

Briarpaw heard, but decided not to bother replying as they slid through the gorse tunnel into the camp. It was still active, even though it was well into the early hours of the morning. Usually it was the Mistclan cats who were the night hunters, but it seemed someone had organized an extra patrol, just in case.

The camp floor was dusty under the cat's paws as Duskpaw lead the way back to the apprentice den. The moss had been tidly arranged by Briarpaw that morning, but now showed signs that someone had been inside. Probably one of the kits had crept in looking for one of the apprentices to play with.

Duskpaw laid down, his friend close beside her. He felt somehow responsible for this new danger, like there was something heavy sat on his shoulders. He wanted to help. He _wanted _to help.

("Starclan, please. Give me _something. Anything! _Tell me what's going on!") He thought to himself.

The stars were just visible through the roof of the den, and Duskpaw waited a moment, looking up for a sign that he had been heard. But it was no use, there was nothing. So he let his head down on his paws, and closed his eyes.

Sleep overtook him, and-

He dreamed.

* * *

_All of a sudden, there was water. Beautiful, clear and unmoving, like a mirror. It seemed to go on forever, in all directions, with only the sound of the wind telling Duskpaw he hadn't been frozen in that still moment. _

_It wa raining pretty hard, __but the crystal droplets didn't touch the tom at all. In fact, it only seemed to touch water, as that was what it sounded like. Wind and water. Water..._

_Then he realised, there was no ground under his feet, only water. But he wasn't wet, or sinking into it, so what was going on? Lifting a paw, the ginger and grey cat brought it back down onto the water's surface.__There was a tiny ripple, that seemed to spread out to the horizon, getting wider and wider. Duskpaw was about to do it again, fascinated, but there was a chuckle from behind him._

_Whipping around and creating an even bigger ripple, the ginger cat gasped. Stood behind him was a beautiful silver-blue she cat, with yellow eyes. Her pelt seemed to shimmer, making her look like she wasn't really there._

_"W-who are you? Where are we?" Duskpaw managed to get out._

_He really had no idea what was going on, but decided to roll with it. The mysterious she cat laughed again._

_"Hello, Duskpaw. I am Galestar, and this place is a dream plane. It is the platform on which StarClan stands to reach you in your dreams."_

_"Oh? But why am I here; why would a StarClan cat want to speak to me?" Duskpaw replied._

_"Lots of questions, young one, but the answer that you really seek lies not with me. For now, we need your help."_

_Duskpaw didn't speak. He wanted Galestar to keep talking. There was something about her that was so familiar, her eyes, her voice, but he couldn't quite see it._

_"You think I'm familiar to you?" She inquired, but then spoke before the other cat had a chance to speak again. "If you want to know, I am Briarpaw's great great grandmother. Her great grandmother, my daughter, was once a TideClan cat, and I use to be the leader of TideClan."_

_"Huh." Duskpaw said, trying to figure out how long ago that was. "So you fought in the Great Battle?"_

_"And helped decide upon the rules of the Echoright, yes. But that is not why we are here,and my time is almost up, so we need to be quick."_

_As Galestar spoke, the shimmer in her pelt dimmed a little. Around the two cats, the water had also started to change. Instead of looking clear and still, it had begun to darken, lapping at Duskpaw's feet. It passed right through Galestar._

_"There are two others, apprentices like you. All of you wished, prayed to us to be able to help. We heard. You must bring them together, and stop a great evil force from rising up. It lives within all cats, but one is being controlled. You must-_

_Galestar coughed. She flickered slightly, like a she was a bad projection._

_"Please. I'm counting on you."_

_And with that, she faded away completely. Not a sparkle from her yellow eyes remained to tell Duskpaw that he was still there as well. _

_And then, he was engulfed by the black, black water._

* * *

**This is shorter than I'd hoped, so I'll tell you some trivia about the stories. 'Echo of a Wish' as the main title of the books, was originally going to be called 'Fractured Light', but I felt it didn't suit it as well.**

**I'll tell you some more next chapter.**


	4. Act 3

Echo of a Wish: Rainstorm

Act 3

The sun was nearing it's peak in the cloudless blue sky as Duskpaw began to wake up. His eyes fluttered open, but he didn't move, in the hope that he could go back to sleep. There was no sign of his den mate, which was odd seeing as it was usually her who had difficulty getting up after a gathering. It'd only been a short one, but the grey tom's whole body ached with sleep, like he'd been up for much longer.

Then in a flash, Duskpaw leapt to his feet. The dream! Or was it more than that? Either way, Duskpaw could still smell the rain and the weird lake he'd been stood on. What had Galestar said again?

"_There are two others, apprentices like you..."_

Right, two more cats. Could one perhaps be Briarpaw? Galestar _had_ said she was related to her.

_"- Evil force. It lives inside all cats, but one is being_ controlled."

So the threat was another cat, then, not a flood or a fire. That was a relief, he supposed. You can't put out a forest fire but you sure as hell can kill another cat.

"Duskpaw, you're finally awake! I didn't think you were gonna wake up 'till tomorrow!

"Briarpaw, good morning."

Duskpaw moved out of the way as Briarpaw came into the den, her long brown fur catching a few leaves as she did. As she bent her head to get them out, Duskpaw realised. He could find out if Galestar was real, or just dreamt up, by asking Briarpaw.

Would she admit it though, if her a member of her family was the one who lead Tideclan into the great battle? It was worth a shot.

"Briarpaw? Did you, uh, have any strange dreams last night?"

Briarpaw stopped nudgeing at a leaf and brought her head up to look at Duskpaw. For a moment, there was something there, some unrecognizable worry in her yellow eyes. But it was gone as soon as it appeared, and Duskpaw put it off as nothing.

"No, why? Did you have a nightmare?" She said, curious.

"Something like that. And this might sound a little weird, but do you have ancestors in Tideclan?"

"Oh," Briarpaw said bluntly. "Yes I do. I won't ask how you know, because that is a weird question to ask before we've even had lunch."

Duskpaw looked away, awkwardly pretending to study the moss on the floor. Briarpaw never usually spoke that way, especially not to him.

"Oh, uh, sorry." He said. "Does that mean I can ask you again _after_ lunch? Heh heh heh..."

Briarpaw looked blankly at Duskpaw. Then, she broke into a grin and chuckled.

"Nah! C'mon, I was sent in to get you for training. Nightspot and Foxstep will be wondering where we went."

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

There was silence as the two cats walked through the woods, where there would usually be laughter and chatter. It felt as though they had just met for the first time, instead of growing up together, and it was bothering Duskpaw.

Even though he was kind of rude, Briarpaw had never reacted like that before. On a better note though, that ruled one cat out. What other apprentices were there, that he knew of? Sure, he'd met a couple at the gatherings, but they never really spoke much.

As they approached the clearing, all thoughts of prophecies and apprentices were pushed out of his head. Instead, he now focused on the two cats stood ahead of him. Nightspot, his mentor, was tall and slender with a black and white pelt, and Foxstep, Briarpaw's mentor was short and stocky with a ginger and white pelt.

Their personalities were totally different too. Nightspot was proud and respectful, where Foxstep was cheerful and talkative.

"Good morning, guys!" She greeted them. "How are you both?"

Briarpaw laughed and responded happily, but went back to silence right away after.

"I'm great, thanks." Duskpaw replied. He didn't know Foxstep all that well, so he kept his tone respectful and slightly more formal than Briarpaw.

Nightspot nodded to Briarpaw, and then turned to touch noses with his apprentice. "Let's get going." He said. "We're practicing climbing trees today, so you better stretch a little first."

"Yeah," Duskpaw answered.

Foxstep turned, Briarpaw beside her. "We'll be heading off into the forest, so we'll see you both later."

Nightspot nodded again. Duskpaw copied him, and then the pair turned to the tree lined border of the clearing. In amongst the trees was a big ash tree, it's bark worn smooth by many generations of cats using it for climbing practice.

"You know the basic techniques, I assume?" The older cat said.

Duskpaw thought for a moment. "Back legs for power, tail for balence and front paws for grip." He said confidently.

"Correct, but can you put that into practice?" Nightspot motioned upwards, to a branch about seven feet above them. It looked thick enough to stand on providing you had good balence. "Try and get up there."

Duskpaw flicked his tail. He looked for the best places to put his paws, thought out how many strides he'd need...

"You're overthinking. If you were being chased, you wouldn't have time to think about things. You'd just have to go for it." He muttered quietly. "Here we go..."

The grey cat heard a click as his claws connected with the hard bark, digging in and making a strong enough hold to push himself up from. As he leapt again, it felt like he was flying for a second, and that fleeting moment, that rush of power made him feel truly alive, a bird set free for the first time.

He touched down to the tree again, and turned in mid air, landing gracefully on the target branch with only a slight wobble. Nightspot yelled up a few words of praise, and told him to come back down.

Poised again, he let himself slide off his perch. Jumping down would only add more momentum, making him hit the ground harder. There was a soft '_phut_' as Duskpaw hit the ground, bunching his legs under him to minimise the fall damage.

"Ah, crap!" He said under his breath, as he felt his ankle jar slightly.

It'd been a while since he'd jumped like that, so it was to be expected, but Nightspot still appeared concerned about it.

"Did you feel the joint slide?" He asked.

"Only a little this time; it's nothing I can't walk off." The apprentice replied.

"That's good. We need all our warriors in peak condition in case something bad happens, so-"

_'Duskpaw.'_

"Eh?"

"Hey, are you listening?"

"Sorry, Nightspot. I thought I heard someone say my name."

"It must've been the wind, it's started to pick up a little."

Duskpaw shook his head. He was sure he'd heard a voice.

_'Duskpaw, come here'_

"There, again!" He meowed at his mentor. "How can you not hear that?"

Nightspot frowned. "I think you need a little rest, if you're hearing things."

All of a sudden, Duskpaw's eyes caught a movement behind Nightspot. The shimmering silhouette of a cat stood behind the black and white cat, staring with green eyes at Duskpaw.

'Follow me,' It called, turning tail to walk away. 'Follow me."

"Hm? What are you looking at?" The older cat said. "Are you feeling okay, or do you-"

"Sorry!" Duskpaw blurted out. "I need to go!"

* * *

**Can we get some more reviews before the next chapter? ;)**


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